Skyscanner backing The Flying Scotsman in record attempt

Skyscanner, the globally leading travel search site, is backing Graeme Obree, the Scottish cyclist “The Flying Scotsman”, in his attempt to break the British and world human-powered bicycle speed records. Skyscanner’s support of Obree marks the Edinburgh-headquartered company’s first major sports sponsorship.

While most competitors in the event will be riding recumbent bikes, where the rider is lying on his or her back when pedalling, Obree’s bike, named ‘The Beastie’, will see him lying on his stomach in the prone position. In what Obree has described as “a question of working out what the laws of physics will allow given the power you can produce”, he will be attempting to reach speeds of 100mph, or 160kph. The current world record is held by Candadian Sam Whittingham, who reached 142kph.

Gareth Williams, CEO and Co-founder of Skyscanner says:

“Graeme Obree is a cycling legend with some incredible world records and titles to his name. Like us, he continues to conquer the world from a base in Scotland. While we all know Graeme for his incredible athleticism, his reputation for innovation in bicycle engineering is equally impressive. Scotland has a history of iconoclastic heroes and innovation; at Skyscanner we dream of such distinctive achievement! So we are delighted to be a small part of his push to break another record, and wish him all the best for his attempt.”

Graeme Obree says:

“It’s great to have Skyscanner’s support for the land speed record attempt. As a team, we are all very excited about the chance to push the time barrier back. While the bottom line is the record itself, the fact that we are really pushing the creative and mechanical mind to produce a bike that can take the record is almost more important.”